Gaara's Blind Savior
by Foreshadow
Summary: A strange, new girl arrives in the hidden sand village. Will she be able to save Gaara from his inner demons? Read and find out!
1. The New Girl

Disclaimer: I don't own anything having to do with Naruto. It all belongs to Masashi Kishimoto. However, I DO own Sheza so hands off!

A/N: Thanks for reading this! I decided to do something a little more serious and a little longer, so here it is! Enjoy! And I would really appreciate any kind of review, even flames!

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_Never has a day gone by_

_When I didn't wish someone could look at me_

_Without hate or fear._

_I wish someone could see me_

_And look at my human side_

_Instead of the monster who lurks within._

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The sun was halfway down in the sky on that lonely desert day. The town bustled with villagers and ninja, going about their business. They looked as happy as anyone, but on the inside they kept a constant fear at the back of their mind. A fear for the demon of their desert village. This demon was no child's fairytale. Oh no, he was all too real. Every so often you could see him exit the home he shared with his two siblings, and he would wander the streets with his gourd on his back. The villagers would use all their will power to keep themselves from looking at him as he passed. Meeting his eye meant certain death.

Today this lonely demon was sitting on the outskirts of town on an abandoned swing set. It was placed out into the desert a ways; Close enough to watch the village, but far enough to go unnoticed. If left undisturbed, he could sit on the swing until the sun went down and then rose again the next morning. It would be a small feat for him. This demon never slept.

He gazed out into the desert, not really looking at anything in particular. He became lost in his own thoughts as the hours slowly passed by. The sun was drawing closer and closer to the horizon when he noticed a presence had come up next to him. He turned his head to see who was foolish enough to approach him.

It was a girl. She looked like she couldn't be older than ten and even that was pushing it for her size. If they stood side by side, she would have only come up to his shoulder. She had deep blue eyes and light blue hair that fell just below her shoulder blades. She wore a red and white t-shirt with brown caprice and flip-flops.

_What's this?_ He thought. _A suicide attempt? _He smirked in his mind. _Wouldn't be the first._

She looked at him for a moment and smiled. Then she sat down on the swing next to him and looked at the setting sun. That was the first odd thing he noted about her. She was able to look directly at the sun without giving any sign of it causing her pain. There was a long silence between them before she finally spoke.

"Hi! I'm Sheza. What's your name?" asked the girl. He didn't answer her question.

"What are you doing out here? I'm not killing you if that's what you want," he stated plainly. She smiled.

"That's good. I don't want to die," she said happily. "I got bored, so I decided to wander around for awhile. I sensed someone out here and decided to come over." This was the second strange thing about her. She sensed him? And from this far away? And not even idiots were stupid enough to talk to him like this. He resisted the urge to kill her because he found her intriguing.

"Don't you know who I am?" he asked in a monotone voice. She shook her head.

"Nope, I just moved here. I hardly know anyone yet," she said. That answered one question. She wasn't stupid, just uninformed. That would have cost anyone else their life but still he resisted. Again silence took hold of them. After a little while she turned her head towards him. This was the third strange thing. Her eyes weren't focusing at all. She was looking at him without really seeing him, yet still it seemed like she was gathering information about him. He felt the vague presence of chakra touching him, another strange thing.

"You seem lonely, sitting out here all by yourself," she said. This took him by surprise. No one had ever looked at him and called him lonely before. "Don't you have any friends?" she asked. He looked at the ground.

"No," he said flatly. He felt a pang of sadness for a moment before he brushed it away and replaced it with his usual indifference.

"That's no good. Everyone needs a friend," she said thoughtfully. She closed her eyes for a moment before looking at him and smiling. "How about I be your friend?" This caught him completely off guard.

"W-What?" he stuttered.

"No need to be so surprised. I'm new here and need someone to talk to, and it looks like you could use some company too," she said. He wasn't sure how to take an offer for friendship. This was the first time anything like this had happened to him.

"Don't I scare you?" he asked. "Hasn't anyone ever told you what a demon looks like?"

"It wouldn't matter if they did," replied Sheza. "I'm blind."


	2. Sheza's past

Disclaimer: Naruto belongs to Masashi Kishimoto. Sheza belongs to me.

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_The girl who's never seen a thing_

_But sees the world for what it truly is._

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Sheza could feel he had been trying to figure her out ever since she first approached him. That was a talent of hers, being able to sense what a person was feeling. Other than that he was pretty much emotionless, but she felt he had the potential to be a very caring person. _What made him this way? Did something happen to him?_ It must have because he was shocked to hear she wanted to be his friend. It seemed like no one had ever treated him kindly before. She smirked. If that was the case, then he was the exact opposite of her. Everyone was always being too nice and too helpful when they found out she was blind. Always the same 'feel sorry for the poor cripple' attitude. She hated it. She was perfectly capable of taking care of herself.

When she revealed she was blind to this boy sitting next to her, she had expected he would have the same reaction as everyone else. Instead, she felt a sense of understanding in him. It seemed this fact had answered his questions about her odd behavior. She knew he was wondering about her from the energy he was giving off. He still seemed to have questions, but was too stubborn to ask. She decided to elaborate.

"I was born blind into an average family in the village hidden in the clouds in the country of lightning. I grew up as an overly protected prisoner in my own house. Whenever I wanted to go outside, my parents insisted they come with me. My older brother went off to the ninja academy when he was old enough. In two years I would be able to go too, but my father wouldn't help me prepare. He said there was no way I could ever be a ninja with my blindness. My brother secretly trained me as he learned, but I started to surpass him as time went on. I attended the ninja academy two years later against my father's will. My mother said it would be good for me to try, but deep down I knew she didn't believe I could do it." Sheza paused for a moment. She wondered if he was getting bored with her explanation and she waited for a reaction. The silence was enough encouragement for her to continue. "School was easy, and I graduated after only three years in the academy. In spite of this, my parents still restricted my ninja activity, limiting me only to the easiest D-rank missions. It always annoyed me that people take pity on me for being blind."

Sheza took another moment to think. She decided on where she should continue and went on from there.

"After both me and my brother became more experienced, my parents allowed us to be put on the same team, and we accomplished our first C-rank mission together. This mission was supposed to be a simple information-gathering trip, but the information we collected was about the start of a territorial dispute withthe village. When we returned, the enemy had already started to attack. We fought back and eventually drove them out, but among the casualties was my mom. My parents had always loved me, perhaps a little too much. This pulled us apart, and I turned to my brother for support more than my dad. He became distant, and I used his mourning period to increase my skills as a ninja. I was about to be entered into the chuunin exams when my dad decided to move. I know why too. He didn't want me taking the exam. He wanted me to have to start over as a ninja with the hopes that it will slow my progress and he'll have me under control. In the end, we moved here to try and start a new life as sand ninja." Sheza finished her recollections and turned to the boy next to her. "And that's how I ended up here."

He seemed to be taking all this in. She felt like she should be nervous around him, at least that was the energy he was giving off, but for some reason she felt like she could trust him. He had mentioned something about a demon and killing her, but that didn't seem like the real him. She felt the sun setting and it was starting to get colder. She stood up and stretched out.

"Well, I guess I'd better get home. It's getting dark," she said. He still hadn't moved. "Will I see you here again tomorrow?" Again, no reaction. She shrugged and turned to leave.

"My name's Gaara," he said finally. She stopped and looked at him.

"What?"

"My name, you asked what it was," he said. "It's Gaara." She paused for a moment before giving him a big grin.

"Nice to meet 'cha, Gaara," said Sheza and she headed back into town, leaving her new friend alone on the swing set.


	3. Demon

Disclaimer: Same deal. I don't own Naruto, but I do own Sheza.

A/N: Sorry those first two chapters were really short. This one is much longer and I'll try to make the other ones longer too. Thanks for reading!

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_Who are you to understand me?_

_How can you know so much about me?_

_Why is it that I can't kill you?_

_And how did you ever get through to me?_

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Gaara didn't return home that night. He knew his siblings wouldn't mind as this was normal behavior for him. He spent the night absorbing all the new information he had gathered from this strange girl. She said she was blind, but she didn't act like it. She knew exactly where the swing set was and she could deduce personal information about him. This made him a little uneasy and he took it out on an unfortunate mouse that passed by.

Her offer for friendship vexed him less and less as he thought about it. He convinced himself she wouldn't return tomorrow. Someone in the village would tell her about him, and that would be the end of it. Not that it mattered much to him. She was just another face in the crowd. Over time, she would become just like the rest. What was one more person anyway?

The night faded into day as the sun slowly rose behind him. He watched as the town awoke and started going about its daily routine, happy for his absence. He started to grow bored and wondered how he could spend the day. There wasn't much to do. He could read or do a sudoku, but that often became boring quickly. He sighed as the day grew hot, and he wished a mission would turn up for him soon.

He felt chakra touch his skin followed by a peppy "Hi, Gaara!" It was Sheza. She had snuck up beside him as he was zoned out. He was surprised to see she had returned. Not only surprised, but happy?

Sheza sat down in the swing next to him, smiling. It seemed like she always had a smile on her face. "It looks like it'll be another hot day today. We never got weather like this in my old village," she said. They sat in silence for a minute, quietly getting acquainted with each other's presence. Again, Sheza was the one to break the silence. "So Gaara, what's that gourd on your back for? It seems dense," she stated. Gaara was caught off guard by the question. How did she know about the gourd?

"It's full of sand," he said plainly. "How did you know about it?"

"I know. You can't believe a blind person can see, right? Even though the only thing my eyes have seen is black, I've developed abilities that help me feel my surroundings," explained Sheza. "One ability that I've always had is a feel for the energy in every molecule that makes up matter. All molecules give off energy, and I can pick it up and comprehend it. I know what's a building, what's a person, and how close I am to them. My second ability I developed after learning how to control my chakra. I call it my chakra scanner. I send out a steady stream of weak chakra in the direction of whatever I want to identify. I can then feel where the chakra stream is interrupted and create a clear picture what's in front of me," explained Sheza. "You've probably felt it. That's how I know what you look like." That explained everything. That was how she knew where he was yesterday, how she could find the swing set without getting lost, and how she was able to become a ninja. "Why do you carry around all that sand?" she asked.

"It's my offense and defense when fighting. I can control it to do other things too," said Gaara.

"That's neat!" she said excitedly. "Is it a bloodline limit?" Gaara paused.

"No," he said, cringing at the thought of what enabled his mastery over sand.

"Oh. Well, it's still neat. I've never heard of a technique like that before."

"What about you? You must have some techniques too," said Gaara, changing the subject.

"I usually use elemental storms. Water and wind are my specialties, but I can also use fire. They're signature moves of the village hidden in the clouds," stated Sheza. "I'm kinda bored all the way out here. Why don't we go for a walk?" she suggested.

"A walk?" said Gaara.

"Yeah, it'll be fun! Come on!" urged Sheza with her usual perkiness. She got off the swing and started walking towards the village. She stopped and turned around when she sensed Gaara wasn't following. "Don't be shy. Let's go!" she said. Gaara reluctantly stood up and followed her into town. They walked next to each other in the streets, getting odd looks from people as they passed by. It wasn't every day you saw Gaara in public with anyone else besides his two siblings.

Sheza was having fun walking around town and figuring out where everything was. Sometimes she'd stop and ask Gaara what a sign said because even with her abilities, she couldn't distinguish between colors and therefore, couldn't read.

Everything was going fine until a man who seemed half drunk pushed Gaara on the back, making him stumble forward.

"Hey monster, what are you doing out in broad daylight?" he asked cynically. "What'd you do to this girl to make her decide to walk with you? Come on little missy, this demon won't bother you anymore," he said offering his hand to Sheza.

"You're going to regret doing that," Gaara growled maliciously. The cork on his gourd popped out and a steady stream of sand rose into the air. It surrounded the man and condensed, trapping him in a cocoon of solid sand. Gaara raised his arm in the direction of his victim. He clenched his hand into a fist and the sand squished the man, spurting blood everywhere.

_There, that should do it. _Thought Gaara._ Now she'll run. She'll run away and call me a monster and learn to hate me just like everyone else. She was a fool to have tried to be my friend._

"Gaara?" asked Sheza timidly.

_Brilliant, she wants to do this the hard way._

"What?" spat Gaara. He gave her one of his signature glares and put forth as much spite and malice as he could. He knew she would sense it, get scared, and run. How could she not?

"You didn't want to kill that man, did you?" she asked with concern in her voice. The question surprised Gaara.

_What is she talking about?_

"Gaara, you may have a demon inside you, but that doesn't mean _you_ are a demon," she said.

_What! How does she know about Shukaku?_

"The villagers told me about you," explained Sheza, sensing his question. "They told me all about what you've done to them. They told me about the demon raccoon and how you'd kill anyone who got in your way," she said.

_She knew? She knew I was a monster? Then why did she come back?_

"I didn't want to admit it, but I guess they're right. You're demon side truly is a terrible monster, but whenever I'm around you, I sense the presence of a demon that is shadowed by the presence of a human. Don't kill them anymore, Gaara. It's not who you really are," said Sheza, looking sad.

Gaara couldn't take much more of this. This girl was making him think too much. He felt himself becoming more unstable.

_Is she right? Did I want to kill him? I didn't, did I?_

_**Of course you wanted to kill him! It's in your blood.**_

_Shukaku. You better shut up!_

_**And why would I do that? I'm only helping you stick to your original principals. This girl is such a nuisance. Why not just kill her and get her out of your way?**_

"I WON'T!" yelled Gaara aloud. He was bent forward and was clutching his head, trying to block out Shukaku's voice.

"Gaara! What's wrong?" asked Sheza, running to his side.

_**You should know better than to disobey my orders.**_

Gaara's head was throbbing with the fiery pain of the mental onslaught. He fell to his knees screaming.

_**Don't make me force you. You won't like it!**_

"Gaara! Gaara! GAARA!" Sheza screamed.

_**Her voice is so annoying. Shut it up for good! NOW!**_

"Y-you...don't...have...CONTROL OVER ME!" shouted Gaara. He pounded his fist into the pavement and screamed with the sheer force it was taking him to fight Shukaku. He was sweating and breathing heavily. Sheza could sense his fight with the demon as it tried to claw its way to the surface.

Shukaku was slowly gaining some control over Gaara's body and he slowly started to raise his arm up to Sheza with the intention of killing her. Sheza knew what was going on and grabbed his wrist, bringing it down. Surprised, Gaara looked up into Sheza's eyes. She in turn was looking right into his. Her eyes looked focused and concerned as their gaze met.

"Gaara! You have to fight him! This demon is in _your_ body, so he needs to follow _your _rules. Now teach him who's boss!" She said half screaming at him to get through to him.

"Sheza..." said Gaara, his voice shaking. She hadn't left him. She had seen him kill in cold blood, but still she didn't run. She watched him go through hell with Shukaku, but she was still there. Somehow, this little girl had managed to get through to him, to his human side. Shukaku was driven back, and slowly, Gaara began to relax.

He sat down on the pavement and looked down at the ground in a daze.

_Perhaps this one is different._ He thought.

"Sheza," he said. "Thank you,"

She smiled.


	4. Fights and Friends

Disclaimer: Yep, Naruto belongs to Masashi Kishimoto blah, blah, blah, and all that. Oh, and Sheza still belongs to me.

A/N: This is going to be my last update for a week or two. I'm going away on vacation, so enjoy!

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_It's these little everyday things_

_That I'll remember the most._

_You've shown me how to enjoy what I have_

_And not take life for granted._

_I thank you for that._

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"Hey Gaara!" said Sheza as she ran up to Gaara. It had been one week since the incident and since then they had become good friends. Gaara even started to smile sometimes. "Gaara! Guess what?" she said excitedly.

"What?" asked Gaara.

"The village is going to let me become a ninja! They're evaluating me today after lunch. You want to come?" she asked.

"Sure, why not?" he replied. They ate lunch together at Sheza's house. Her dad was a good cook, and her family didn't mind having Gaara over after they got used to him.

After lunch, they headed to the designated battle arena where Sheza would have to fight one of the sand ninja so she could be evaluated on her skill level. Gaara watched from the spectator stands as they brought out Sheza's opponent. He was another genin, a little older than Gaara and he looked rather strong. Sheza took a fighting stance and the judge told them to begin. Gaara took a moment to glare at the watching Kazekage before returning his gaze to the fight.

Sheza ran up to her opponent and thrust a punch at him. He caught her hand in his, thinking he had blocked her attack. Sheza smirked and jumped up and over him, bringing his arm behind his head. She grabbed his arm as she landed and used the force of her momentum to bring him up over her head and slammed him into the ground. She jumped back as he staggered back up to his feet.

Sheza then preformed a series of hand signs and the air around her opponent started swirling and created a tornado around him. The air span faster and faster and soon it created a vacuum. The ninja grabbed his throat as he tried to breathe, but the tornado was sucking all the air out from around him. Gaara looked on, amazed. The kind Sheza he knew could be quite brutal when she wanted to be.

"Okay! That's enough! The winner is Sheza," said the judge. Sheza let the tornado dissipate and smiled.

"Alright! I won!" she shouted. The judge came up to her.

"Good fight," he said. We'll decide on your team and get back to you tomorrow. You're dismissed." Sheza found Gaara outside the arena and they headed back into town.

"That was a good fight," said Gaara. "I didn't know you were so strong."

"Thanks! But that guy was pretty weak. Stupid too. He could have easily used a kunai to deflect the wind and escape the tornado," she said. She shrugged. "Oh well, I guess it was enough to impress them." Gaara nodded and they walked down the street for awhile.

"Hey Sheza," said Gaara. "Do you want to come to my place?" he asked. Sheza lit up at his offer.

"I'd love too! I've never been to your house before. What's it like? Do your parents live there?" she asked. She could get excited very easily.

"No, my father doesn't live with us, but my brother and sister do. If they're home you can meet them," he said.

"Okay! What about your mom?" asked Sheza. Gaara suddenly looked a little sad.

"My mother died when I was a baby," he stated simply.

"Oh, I'm sorry. I didn't know. I don't really know anything about your past." Gaara could take a hint, but he just didn't want to tell her yet. Maybe later.

They found his house on the village border. It was bigger than necessary for only three people, but it still had a homey feel to it. They found Temari and Kankuro in the living room watching TV.

"Temari, Kankuro, this is Sheza," said Gaara as he entered the room. Temari turned off the TV and looked at them.

"It's good to meet you Sheza," said Temari. "I'm Temari. Gaara's told us all about you."

"Temari, can you turn the TV back on? I want to watch that," complained Kankuro.

"Kankuro! You're being rude!" said Temari as she punched him in the shoulder. "Sorry about him. He's just an idiot," she explained. Sheza laughed.

"That's okay. My brother can be an idiot sometimes too," said Sheza with a big grin. Gaara briefly showed Sheza the house before leading her up to his room. It was a big room with a large bookshelf, a television set, and a big coffee table with a partially-finished jigsaw puzzle on it. Sheza noticed something missing from the room.

"Hey Gaara, why don't you have a bed?" she asked. Gaara sighed.

"That's something I've never told you about. I don't sleep," he said.

"Don't sleep? How can you not sleep?" asked Sheza.

"I used to rely on caffeine to keep me awake, but over time I've been able to keep myself occupied enough that I don't really notice it much. You can't see it, but I have black rings around my eyes from my insomnia. I've hardly slept at all my whole life," explained Gaara.

"But why don't you sleep?" she asked. Again, Gaara sighed.

"It's from the demon inside me. If I fall asleep for even a minute, he'll start eating away at my personality. Once I become weak enough, he'll take over completely and destroy everything," he explained. Sheza felt sorry for him. Who knew what side-effects life-long insomnia had on the body?

"That's terrible! Isn't there anyway to stop him?" she asked out of concern. Gaara shook his head.

"I'm afraid not. This thing has always been inside of me from birth. He's been manipulating me since I was six. Trust me, if there was a way to stop him, I would have done it long ago," he said. Sheza wished there was something she could do for him, but it seemed like right now the only thing she could do was be a supportive friend to him.

"Okay, Gaara! Someday I'll find a way to get rid of that demon! You can count on it!" she pledged enthusiastically. Gaara looked at her for a moment before he found himself smiling. She sensed his happiness and smiled back.

"Thanks, Sheza," said Gaara. They sat there for a few moments. "Would you like to help me with this puzzle?" he asked.

"Sure!" replied Sheza, and they started working on his jigsaw puzzle together.


	5. The Mission

Disclaimer: Yep, still hasn't changed. Naruto belongs to Masashi Kishimoto and Sheza belongs to me.

A/N: Sorry for the late update. Here are my lame excuses: 1. I had a major case of writer's block. 2. I got lost on the path of life and just plain forgot about writing. 3. For some reason I couldn't make myself write this chapter because I'm bad at writing action and it's probably the worst thing I've ever written. Oh well, I promise the next one will be better and it will be out quicker than this one. Enjoy!

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Haha! No poetic opening this time! There's nothing poetic about this chapter, so I decided not to write one.

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The next day, Sheza came over to Gaara's house with great news. She found him on the roof and sat down next to him. She was wearing the sand village forehead protector around her neck and she had replaced her old flip-flops with a pair of ninja sandals.

"Hey Gaara! I've got something good to tell you!" said Sheza happily.

"Yeah? What is it?" asked Gaara.

"The Kazekage is making me a genin, and guess what? I'm on the same team as you, Temari, and Kankuro!" she exclaimed. Gaara thought that one day she would die from getting so excited all the time.

"That's great news," he said with a small smile. "By the way, what about your brother? Is he becoming a ninja?" he asked.

"Yeah, he is. He's going with an older genin group," explained Sheza. "Oh yeah, we have a mission today too. B-rank. Something about a border skirmish between two of the smaller nations around here," she added. Gaara suddenly got very mad.

"That bastard! Couldn't he at least _tell_ me about these missions beforehand? I swear, next time I see him I'll-"

"Anger management," said Sheza, cutting him off. He sighed.

"Sorry, but that Kazekage really irritates me," said Gaara, slowly calming himself down.

"What do you have against the Kazekage?" asked Sheza.

"Oh, I have a _lot_ to hate him over," he said. "So, what time is this mission?"

"We leave in two hours. Baki-sensei will meet all of us by the front gate." Gaara nodded and stood up.

"Well then, I guess we'd better start preparing," he said, and he went to go tell Temari and Kankuro.

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Two hours later, they met at the front gate. Gaara carried his gourd, Kankuro had his puppet, Temari had her fan, and Sheza carried a pack with some supplies. The mission shouldn't last for more than a day or two, but it was still a good idea to be prepared. Baki-sensei joined up with them and they were off.

They spent the rest of the day traveling to the two countries. There had been some conflict with their feudal lords and each country wanted the other's land. Both sides had hired ninja to aid them in the battle. The Wood Country had hired ninja from the village hidden in the stones and the Leaf Country had hired ninja from the village hidden in the sand. Sheza made a joke that they should conjoin and create Tree Country.

They arrived at the battlefield to find two encampments. One was on Wood Country territory and the other was on Leaf Country territory. They were very close together. No less than half a mile apart. They were sitting just across the border from each other, showing how evenly matched the battle was.

They spoke to the general in charge of the Leaf Country army to discuss the battle plan. It was annoyingly simple; Just a straight charge at the enemy encampment at dawn. They were to find the other country's ninja and wipe them out. They were assigned two tents and were dismissed.

Sheza shared a tent with Temari while Gaara, Kankuro, and Baki took the other one. Sheza dropped her pack and pulled out her bed roll.

"This'll be fun. It's been awhile since I've seen any real action," said Sheza, making herself comfortable. The sun had set awhile ago and she was tired from the long journey.

"I wouldn't get too relaxed," warned Temari. "Remember, this is a B-rank mission. I'm surprised they sent us genin to fight."

"I guess they think we can handle it," said Sheza. She yawned. "I'm tired. If we have to get up early and fight, I'll need some sleep." Temari nodded and they crawled into their bed rolls. They put out the light, and fell asleep.

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The next morning they were awakened by one of the soldiers. He told them to get up and get ready; They'd be going in ten minutes. Sheza and Temari did as they were told and they met the others outside. They were spread out among the soldiers and they prepared for the charge.

They started out at a slow march, and then picked up speed as they reached the border. The other side had had the same strategy however, and both charges converged at the boundary between their two countries. Sheza and Gaara found two of the stone ninja and started fighting them. Gaara's was down in a matter of seconds and went off to see how the others were doing. Sheza made quick work of her opponent using a combination of fire and air techniques and went to find someone else to fight. The battle only lasted for ten minutes before the Wood Country called a retreat. Both sides went back to their encampments to record casualties and to think of their next course of action.

"What the heck was that?" asked Sheza when she met up with Gaara near the tents. "That was boring and pathetic."

"It did seem a little too easy," agreed Gaara.

"I don't know guys. Kankuro's pretty beat up," said a voice behind them. They turned and there was Temari with Kankuro slung over her shoulder, unconscious.

"Jeez, what happened to him?" asked Sheza.

"I think he was battling a ninja when he got caught in some cross-fire. He has a slash mark on his arm and a big bruise on his head where I think someone hit him to knock him out," explained Temari.

"Fool," said Gaara, glaring at his passed-out brother.

"Come on, we'll help you take him to the infirmary," said Sheza. They slung Kankuro's arms over each of their shoulders and dragged him to the medical tent. When they arrived, they were greeted by the sight of several rows of beds with wounded soldiers wrapped up in bandages. A few were missing a limb while others got away with just a few scratches. A nurse dressed in white took Kankuro off their hands and they left for the housing tents. Temari went to veg out in the girl's tent while Sheza went with Gaara to the boy's tent.

"Something about this little war doesn't sit right with me," said Sheza as they sat down. Gaara nodded.

"I know what you mean. The ninja we battled today were under-experienced genin. Why would the Wood Country hire such weak ninja for all-out war?"

"They way they fought annoyed me too. Both sides flashed their swords at each other and then Wood Country calls an early retreat." They both thought for a minute.

"Wood Country is definitely up to something. We should keep our guard up and prepare for any surprise attacks," stated Gaara, and so they did. Sheza fiddled with a metal puzzle while Gaara became lost in his own thoughts as usual.

No more than an hour had passed when there was a commotion within the encampment. They both ran outside and met up with Temari to see what was going on. The three weaved their way through the tents to find ninja attacking the soldiers.

"I thought their retreat was a little sudden," said Temari, who was pulling out her fan.

"Our thoughts exactly," stated Sheza. She started a series of handsigns and paused to get a lock on one of the enemy ninja. She pinpointed his position and made the last sign. "Earth Style: Rock Barrage Jutsu!" shouted Sheza. The rocks on the ground trembled slightly before rising into the air and shooting at the opponent with deadly speed. Temari unfortunately couldn't use her wind attacks because of the close-quarters, so she resorted to usingher fanas a whacking instrument. Gaara, of course, was doing his usual thing.

It was around this time that they noticed something was out of place. These ninja weren't like the ones from earlier. These ones were better. Sheza's kept escaping the rocks no matter how many times she used the jutsu, Gaara's kept dodging the sand, and Temari couldn't land a single hit. These were definitely not the genin they fought earlier. These were chuunin.

Finally Baki showed up and began to help them fight. With him on their side, the other ninja didn't stand a chance and a few of them dropped dead. The rest decided to cut their losses and retreat.

"How evenly matched are these two countries?" asked Baki to himself.

"What do you mean?" asked Temari, brushing the dirt out of a cut on her arm.

"I was just ordered to help the Leaf Country invade the Wood Country camp. All of our attacks are happening simultaneously..." he trailed off.

"Great, so even with ninja support, both sides are still at a standstill. How much longer is this going to last?" Right as Sheza finished her thought, a messenger approached them on horseback.

"Sand ninja! You are to leave the encampment at once!" he commanded.

"What! We can't leave! What about the war?" asked Sheza.

"The war is over. The feudal lords have settled the dispute. Under a new law, neither country is allowed to hire ninja for military assistance. Now go! Or we'll set the attack dogs on you!" And with that, the messenger rode away. They exchanged confusedglances for a moment before rushing back to the tents to pack their things. They weren't afraid of attack dogs, after all they were ninja, but they left quickly to return home and hopefully never see Wood or Leaf Country ever again. They were out of the encampment in five minutes and they rushed back home with the sound of hounds at their backs.

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After seeing how evenly matched both countries were, the feudal lords came to their senses and called a treaty. After a few financial and political matters were cleared up, Leaf Country and Wood country conjoined to create Tree Country.


	6. On a Starry Night

Disclaimer: Do I have to keep doing this? Oh well. sigh I do NOT own. Don't even think about it.

a/n: WOW! Loooooong hiatus...hehe, sorry 'bout that, I'll try to be better about updating. Now that I've jumped the lazy hurtle and the writer's block hurtle, I'm sure the spirit will move me more to update more often so...yeah. Enjoy!

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_Do you think that could be us?_

_Twinkling in the night sky_

_Like the dazzling stars_

_That shine above us._

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The five managed to get home without incident and life continued as usual, or as close to usual as their lives could get.

Over the course of the next few months, Sheza began cracking through the giant boulder that was Gaara's brain. She would listen whenever he had something to say and was always ready to help in any way she could. Gaara gradually began to open up to her more and more and, for the first time, he would let his emotions show... to her at least.

He stopped hurting the people in the village. When someone pissed him off, he resorted to running off into the desert and using his sand to pound the ground or beat up a tree, if he could find one.

Sheza could often sense when he was throwing a fit, and she would walk off into the desert to find him.

"What's wrong?" she would ask, and he would scream and yell and say whatever he wanted to. All the while, Sheza would sit and listen, offering words of encouragement.

Shukaku continued to bother Gaara. That is, until Sheza lost her temper. It happened after Shukaku had been tormenting Gaara excessively and Sheza finally had had enough. He was screaming as he mentally fought with Shukaku when Sheza walked up to Gaara and slapped him across the face. They had been too preoccupied to notice at first, so the sand failed to catch it. The action stunned both of them and their fight halted. Gaara looked into the eyes of a very angry Sheza.

"Hey! Shukaku! I'm getting sick and tired of your attitude. What right do you have going around, torturing the very vessel you live in? You better get your act together, or so help me, I'll come in there and beat some manners into you myself!!!" she yelled. Her method of speaking directly to Shukaku proved to be effective, and he was startled into shutting up. "Is that better?" she asked, addressing Gaara.

"Y-Yeah, thanks," he replied weakly, still a little dazed from the slap.

"Sorry I had to do that, but that demon really ticks me off," she said, still fuming.

It was things like these that started bringing out the human in Gaara and brought them closer and closer together.

It was a quiet, peaceful evening as Gaara sat on his roof, staring out at the world. As the sun set, the stars appeared, and lights were shut off as the village settled down for the night.

Gaara sighed. Another long night. _If only there was more to do with no one _around, he thought sullenly. Just as he was spacing out, he heard a familiar voice behind him.

"Wow, you really _don't_ sleep, do you?"

"Sheza? What are you doing here? It's past eleven," said Gaara, concerned.

"Calm down, I came to spend the night," she replied, sitting down next to him. "I thought you could use some company."

"All night?" She nodded.

"Yep. You've done it your whole life; I think I can handle one night." They sat in silence for awhile. It wasn't an awkward silence as it was awhile ago. It was the kind of silence you can comfortably have with family or a close friend.

"So, what's up with your dad?" asked Sheza after awhile. Gaara became a little tense.

"Why do you ask?" he said tersely.

"Well, you said he doesn't live with you, but you never said he wasn't alive," she stated matter-of-factly. "So, who is he?" Gaara paused for a moment before responding.

"He's the Kazekage," said Gaara with a tone that said he didn't want to pursue the matter any further. A cold chill blew over them. It was probably just the desert night setting in, but for all Sheza knew it could have been from the drop in Gaara's mood.

"But if he's the Kazekage, then shouldn't you be living in some sort of royal house with guards and servants and the rest of your family?" asked the oblivious Sheza. To her surprise, Gaara laughed. It wasn't anything uproariously loud nor could it have passed as even a mild chuckle. It was more like an amused "Ha."

"The only reason that man would ever want me living within a two-mile radius of him would be because he could kill me more easily that way," he said with mild contempt. Gaara picked up on Sheza's apparent shock and decided to continue. "He's been sending assassins after me since I was six. I-"

"That's horrible!" exclaimed Sheza.

"Hardly," said Gaara dismissively. "Thus far they've been pretty weak and, as you can clearly see, have been unable to complete their mission." There was a slight pause before he went on. "After all, nothing could have been worse than the first one."

"Why? Who was the first?" said Sheza, deeply concerned.

"...My uncle, Yashamaru," replied Gaara, sighing. "He was the only person I ever trusted...And then he had to go and do..._that_," he said, cringing slightly from the memory.

"I...I'm not sure was to say," said Sheza, cautiously. "I'm sorry." Gaara shrugged.

"No need. It's all in the past now." He was trying to brush it off as if it were nothing, but Sheza caught the slight twinge of pain he let show from the searing headache such memories were causing. "I just wish those damned villagers would get off their high-horse and stop treating me like dirt."

"But _why_?" asked Sheza. Gaara shook himself into becoming more alert.

"Why what?"

"Why does your father want to kill you? It just doesn't seem right." Gaara smiled at her cute attempt at trying to bring justice to such a situation.

"It's because of Shukaku. I am a test subject of the village for trying to engineer better ninja. That's how my mother died: She was the human sacrifice so the jutsu could be completed." He continued without stopping so he couldn't be interrupted at Sheza's gasp of surprise. "I was carefully monitored to see what effects of the demon would have on me, but I became too strong. When I turned six I was seen as a threat to the village and thus, the assassins." Sheza was quiet for awhile.

"I'm sorry," she said finally. "You probably don't want to remember things like that. I shouldn't have pushed you," she said apologetically.

"It's okay. I don't blame you," said Gaara. "I shouldn't have hid it from you for so long. I guess I was afraid of your reaction."

"Well, you shouldn't have. You can trust me," she said. Sheza understood how Gaara would have a hard time trusting anyone after what had happened to him, but he needed to learn that Sheza was on his side.

They turned their gaze to the sky where the stars winked at them playfully. "Can you see them?" asked Gaara.

"See what?"

"The stars." Sheza shook her head.

"No, they're one of the few things I can't sense in any way. They're too far," she said. "My brother once described them to me. He said they looked like bright, dazzling lights in the black sky." Gaara nodded.

"Yeah, that's about right," he said quietly. They spent several hours sitting and talking about whatever came into their heads: school, politics, and the upcoming chuunin exams. The time passed quickly, and Gaara was happy to have someone to spend the lonely, early-morning hours with. Sheza did her best, but she eventually fell asleep. Gaara smiled softly. "Well, at least she tried," he said to himself. He waited until the sun rose before picking her up and carrying her home.

He knocked on her door and her brother answered it. "Oh, hi Gaara. What's up?" he asked, noticing Sheza and still rubbing the sleep out of his eyes.

"She spent the night at my house. She stayed awake al night but she fell asleep around five. Hasn't woken up since," he explained. Her brother thought it would be best not to question too much further, especially this early in the morning. He gently took her from Gaara's arms.

"Thanks," he said. "I'll tell her you brought her home." Gaara nodded and turned to leave. "Oh, and Gaara?" Gaara turned around. "Is Sheza doing alright? Sometimes I worry about her," he said slowly.

"You shouldn't," replied Gaara instantly. "Sheza is strong. She can take care of herself." Her brother nodded and took her into the house. Gaara headed home with a stoic expression and a flustered mind.


End file.
